The Greater Good

The battle was drawing to a close. Commander Farsight breathed in a deep breath. The air stank of death and almost choked him with smoke, but he had to look strong in front of his men.

"Smell that, Shas'El?" he asked the knight next to him without giving him a glance. "Smells like victory." The warrior grunted in reply, obviously deep in thought.

The commander gazed at the smoking ruins before him. The Tau had invaded this world about two weeks ago. The little resistance they found had been harder to crush than they first anticipated. The planet's PDF force had a small regiment of the Imperial Guard – the Urban Tigers – who had dug them in almost flawlessly. Farsight was secretly impressed at the guardsmen who had fortified the place; it had withstood the full force of his caste longer than any Imperial city he had encountered before, and was one of the smallest.

Still, the Tau's victory was inevitable. He had received word that his men had captured the city's lord. Farsight stood on the shoulder of his custom XV8 Crisis battlesuit which was on a rocky outcrop, towering proudly above his army. He didn't fear any sniper fire thanks to the shield generator attached to his back. He looked down at the plain before him to see a small group of figures walking towards him. My soldiers with the lord, I suppose.

Several minutes passed before he could make out the figures. He saw the lord flanked by four of his stormtroopers, who were then surrounded by firewarriors dressed in the bright red of the Vior'la sept. The lord looked a frail man. He wore a maroon, fur-lined robe with a large hood, his eyes downcast. The Imperial stormtroopers wore the black carapace of their regiment over a green and khaki uniform. A hood covered their heads and a gas mask their face. They had been relieved of their weapons.

As the group walked through the Tau trenches, the mood in the camp shifted. Tau clambered around to see the lord. Many began shouting at him, some challenging the men to fight, others insulting the frailty of the man. Farsight knew their breath was wasted, the humans couldn't understand their language as much as his men could understand theirs. Farsight himself knew some low Gothic, he had needed to once he was promoted to commander that he might spread the Greater Good to the Imperium.

"My lord," Farsight acknowledged once the men were in his presence. The man looked a lot less lordly than Farsight had thought he'd be. The lord looked up at him.

"Commander," he acknowledged, not unkindly. One of the firewarriors behind him smashed him in the small of his back with the butt of his rifle, sending him to his knees. Three of the lord's stormtroopers started at the firewarrior, while the fourth went to check that the man was alright. All were restrained by the remaining firewarriors.

"How dare you look directly at the Shas'O," the warrior pointlessly shouted at the man in his native language. He raised his hand to strike the fallen lord.

"Shas'La!" Farsight barked before the soldier could strike. "Control yourself!" He was surprised to hear the old lord chuckle.

"You would do well to reign in your dog, commander. He betrays your true intentions."

Farsight jumped down from the shoulder of his battlesuit. Drawing his ceremonial knife, he walked towards the fallen man, lifting his chin with the tip of the blade.

"Explain." He said, digging the tip of the blade into the man's chin as a warning.

"We both know why your dogs brought me here. So you can offer me a place in the mighty Tau Empire," the lord spat. "What place has a human in your 'empire'? You come to my city with the promise of peace, and look at it now. Did we ask for a place in your empire?" The man knocked the knife away from his chin and began to pick himself up. Some firewarriors went to restrain the men, but Farsight dismissed them with a flick of his wrist.

The lord rose and looked at Farsight directly in the eye. The commander analysed him for a moment. He could see wisdom in the old man's eyes, and a deep sadness behind his anger.

"We seek only to spread the Greater G..." Farsight started

"Damn your greater good," the man swore, his voice rising as he spoke. "Is that something you tell yourself to help you sleep at night? You seek only to destroy what is, that you may rebuild it and put yourself on top, indulging in the adoration of your people. People who wouldn't put their life on the line for the damned greater good. Look around you, fool! Is there anything good about this?" he pointed at the ruins of his city. "Is there any good in the deaths of the civilians living there? People who died before you even opened your mouth with talk of the greater good? Is there anything good about your dogs beating us when we're defenceless? Does it make you feel righteous and strong?"

Farsight punched the man in the stomach, winding him. The man fell to one knee.

"Do you think this insanity will end with your rule?" The man continued, his anger back in check. He got to his feet again. "What is so different about the Tau that they could stop war? You are a people founded in war, yet you know so little about it. You seek to rule the stars when you have yet to rule yourselves. Are you so different from humans, even Chaos? You both zealously force your beliefs on others at the whim of your Ethereal or God. " The man put an old hand on Farsight's shoulder and pulled him closer. "So before you go putting your hoof in another Imperial city, ask yourself if you would want what you're doing to happen to you. The damned greater good is no truer than any religion – it's an excuse for you to hide your inadequacy as a peaceful people behind."

Farsight's temper flared, and he pulled the pistol from his holster and shot the lord in his stomach. The lord fell, gurgling and screaming, for the third and last time.

"You speak of peace, yet you bring war," the Lord managed to say before the commander put a plasma round in his head, ending his life.

Farsight heard a commotion and looked up from the body. He was shocked to see that the stormtroopers had broken free of their restrainers. He saw three firewarriors on the ground with broken necks and bludgeoned faces, and another with blood seeping from his neck. He looked for his ceremonial knife and saw that one of the stormtroopers had picked it up from where the lord had knocked it and was advancing towards the commander with it bared.

The man slashed at the commander. Farsight jumped back and mentally called for his battlesuit. The implant in his head that linked him to the suit responded immediately. He heard his suit's jetpack engage behind him, and within half a second he was enveloped in the suit's chest, sealing him away from his assailant. Another second later and his suit had fully activated. He studied the stormtrooper before him for a moment before slashing at him with the Dawn Blade. The man knew his death was inevitable and didn't move as his head parted from his shoulders.

Farsight hurried towards the remaining stormtroopers, but it was too late to save the firewarriors. One stormtrooper lay dead when Farsight reached the fray, but the remaining two stormtroopers killed the remaining firewarriors. The first trooper gave a firewarrior a quick jab to the face, before stepping around him and pulling the soldier's neck over his shoulder, breaking it. The second trooper wrestled a pulse carbine with a Shas'El. He delivered a powerful kick to the knight's knee, knocking him over and seizing the gun from the Tau's grasp. He fired several rounds into the warrior's chest before spinning around to aim the gun at Farsight's battlesuit.

But he was too late, and the Dawn Blade passed through both the remaining humans before the stormtrooper let off any more shots. As the dust settled, Farsight looked at the bodies around him. He counted seven dead Tau amongst the bodies. Six of the dead Tau were the squad that had brought the captives to the Tau camp. A wave of despair crashed over Farsight as he realised that the seventh body was the Shas'El he had talked to not half an hour ago.

Farsight disengaged his battlesuit and knelt beside the fallen knight. Medics had already arrived on the scene, more to clean up than to save anyone. All those years of fighting, all for naught, Farsight thought as he closed the fallen warrior's eyes. What were you fighting for, I wonder. He looked up again at the burning city.

"You speak of peace, yet you bring war." The old Lord's words echoed in his head. Farsight looked again at the dead knight. So, look at what I brought you. I am sorry, brother.

Ta-da

~ Fin ~

Jackson Page 3 12/05/2013